The Fighter
by InnocentTraitor22
Summary: It's been fourteen years since the Golden Army fell for good, and the Broom twins were born to two loving, if not unusual, parents. But as the brother and sister come into their own, they must face their own demons and find their own path both as twins and as individuals. Post-Golden Army; Mentor!Nuada
1. Chapter 1

"Faster"

Ruby's body was nearing its limit, but she obeyed and pushed her limbs to thrust and twist on command, increasing her speed.

"Faster, you're still not fast enough."

Sweat ran down her neck and back, getting in her eyes, but she didn't stop to wipe it away. Instead, she kept going, willing herself to improve.

Keep your body low, keep your feet wide and ready to move.

These basics had been drilled into her since she was a child until they were as much a part of her as her arms and legs. The teenager grunted with exertion, focused solely on the square on the wall that was her target. The caves were cool, the stone holding in the chill of the autumn air. They were well hidden from the world.

In her intensity, Ruby was caught off guard by sudden pressure on the back of her knee. She didn't fall, but she did buckle only to recover quickly and whip around in surprise.

Nuada stood behind her with an unimpressed look on his face, ageless as ever. "You let your guard down."

Ruby wiped the sweat from her face and growled, "You were the one that wanted me to go faster."

"Yes, faster, but don't get sloppy." He reprimanded her. "Never, ever forsake awareness for ability, otherwise you'll miss something you could have stopped."

Ruby sighed heavily but nodded. He'd really been picking up on her training in the past year. When she came to him as a child he'd only taught her the basics, but maybe since she'd stuck around for so long and kept his location a secret, he'd started to take her more seriously.

The girl rolled her shoulders lazily and winced slightly

"Did you strain anything?"

"No" She should her head, "I've just been training with the weights at HQ, to get stronger."

"That's good." Nuada nodded, slightly impressed that his protege been training outside of him, "if you train with weight, you'll become faster when you move without them."

Ruby nodded and sat on an out-jutting rock, taking advantage of the lull to catch her breath.

"How's my sister?" Nuada asked, ever curious since his link had been broken. The knife that pierced her breast hadn't killed them, but it did sever their tie to one another. After the battle all those years ago, Nuada reinstated his exile. The betrayal of his sister had sent him into a tailspin, and as much as he wanted to finish what he started, he couldn't find the fire he had had before.

Perhaps, he thought, the years were getting to him.

"She's alright." Ruby nodded, tying her black hair back into a tight bun. "We don't talk much, but as far as I know nothing's changed."

"And your brother?" Nuada prodded carefully, leaning against the wall beside her and slowly slipping down so they were on the same level.

She swallowed her water and sighed, setting the plastic bottle to the side "He's the same too."

"So, your parents are still coddling him then?"

"Hm." Ruby shrugged, "It's complicated. But I don't mind so much, not anymore. Trevor's not like me. Sometimes I think it's better that he got mom's powers and I didn't. I mean, could you imagine me catching fire?"

Nuada scoffed at that, "I'd rather not, I've already made you enough of a menace."

The girl chuckled and nodded. It wasn't true though if anything Nuada had kept her from becoming a threat to society. Once upon a time, Ruby hated her brother for his powers and the fact that he was too timid to use them. Yes, she'd taken after her father in strength, but all the same, she was insanely jealous.

The twins were polar opposites, but somehow the sister always felt the need to protect Trevor. Mainly because he was too scared to protect himself. That's why she found Nuada.

The agents were too wary to train Ruby and her abilities were being wasted. She was unnaturally strong, and one hit from her could crack a rib, but she lacked the self-restraint to hold back during sparing. They were afraid of her.

Nuada not only honed Ruby's abilities, but he also gave the malcontented teen the discipline she needed to control herself and her hair-trigger temper. It seemed he understood her position better than anyone else could.

That's why she always came back, even knowing what she knew about him. Because he understood.

"Do you still envy him?"

Ruby blinked at the surprising personal question. But, then again, Nuada was just like that. He came off as standoffish and cold, but if he wanted to know something, he wasn't shy about asking.

"I don't think so." She pondered, "Well….not in the same way I _was._ I mean, I can at least leave HQ and go into the city if I want to. I can come here and see you without anyone worrying. He's different, you know? I know he wants to leave, at least sometimes, but he can't. And if he did, it wouldn't be the same for him."

Nuada nodded at this thoughtfully before standing up.

"Alright, that's enough resting. Back to the wall." He prompted her, "Keep your guard up. 1…2…3-Go"

Ruby started her shadow sparing once more, and Nuada eyed the girl with barely concealed pride and a faint smile on his ancient lips.

"Faster"

She was careful to get back home before night fell, greeting the guards in the front and flashing her I.D badge in front of the scanner. If asked where she was all evening, her answer was always the same.

"I was in the woods, just hanging out."

"Don't you ever get lonely out there all by yourself?" Liz questioned her from the kitchen, reheating the dinner Ruby had missed.

"No, if I get lonely, I just go into town."

"You hike all the way to town? That's at least seven miles!"

"It's nice." Ruby said almost defensively. "about two hours each way, it's relaxing to just walk."

Ruby paused a moment before looking up from her phone and eyeing her mom across the room. "Maybe…I could bring Trevor some time."

Liz froze for a second.

"Rue…" She said slowly. "I don't-"

"Just a suggestion," Ruby added carefully. "That's all."

Before Liz could say more, her husband lumbered into the kitchen. Catching sight of his daughter, he grinned and got into a mock boxing stance.

"And it's Ruby Ray and Old Man Red squaring up once again."

Ruby laughed and got into a sparring stance, playfully putting her fists up and lunging at her father.

"Ray goes in with a right hook, catching the old man across the jaw." She echoed him and the two engaged in a bout of mock wrestling as Liz held the plate over her head and out of their way.

"Hey, hey, hey, not the in the kitchen!" She scolded them both. "Ruby, eat your dinner!"

"Fiiine" Ruby sighed and sat at the counter as her father fumbled in the fridge for a beer.

"God Damn girl, look at you. What have you been doing out in those woods? Fighting bears?" Red noted, making Ruby laugh and flex her considerably muscular arms like Mr. Universe.

"Eat." Liz insisted. "At least I know I'm cooking enough protein."

Ruby downed her food quickly before washing off her plate and looking towards the door.

"Where's Trev?"

"Library."

"Got it."

"Hey, make sure he's not up there all night reading, okay?" Liz called after her daughter as she rushed off out of the living quarters and into the facility.

The B.P.R.D lived on after Manning resigned and was now under new management. The new head's name was Director John Myers, an agent who had been working in Antarctica until he was invited to return to replace Manning. He was much younger than most people expected but took to leadership and acting as the public face of the organization surprisingly well. It was him who made it clear that the family was free to come and go as they pleased, but the policies practiced were less than liberal.

"Trev?" Ruby called as she entered the library, only to be shushed harshly from across the room.

Trevor was a solitary soul, so Abe liked to say.

He kept to himself and his books and mostly ignored everyone else even when it was impossible to ignore him. And it often was on the rare occasions he went out in public. He was somehow both identical and opposite to his father. He was bright red and had two thick yet short horns that protruded from his forehead. His tail was long, but often tucked into his pants, and on his cheeks were sad patchy of dark pubescent peach fuzz. The only thing he lacked a bulky stone hand.

At the moment, he was sitting back in a comfortable chair engrossed in a thick tome.

"Don't shush me, you jerk." Ruby shoved him softly. "it's rude."

"So is being loud in a library, dummy." He shot back.

"It's not a public library, there's no one to hear."

"There's me."

"You don't count." Ruby sighed. "What'd you do today?"

Trevor didn't answer and Ruby raised her brows critically.

"Trevor…"

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell me you sat in here all day and read."

"So what if I did?"

"Trevor!" Ruby threw up her hands in exasperation. "You could at least walk around the building or something! Get some fresh air!"

"I'm sitting under a vent that gives me plenty of fresh air."

"That air's not fresh, it's been recycled through the building a hundred times." Ruby leaned on the table towards him. "You're breathing _canned air, Trevor_!"

"Lay off." The boy snapped at her, "We can't all just wander off into the woods for hours."

"You _could _if you really _wanted to_" Ruby insisted, "We're not prisoners, you know. Mr. Myer said so himself."

"But Mom and Dad-"

"They'd be okay with it!" Ruby insisted, "Come on."

Trevor couldn't find another argument to use and hugged indignantly. "Leave me alone Ruby! I'll go out when I want to go out, and that's that." He settled himself into the chair violently as if to push his point home, eyeing her fiercely. "Now go take a shower, you smell like a goat!"

Ruby sighed and rolled her neck, "Fine, be a shut-in. See if I care." She turned to leave before calling over her shoulder, "By the way, Mom said not to stay in her all night reading!"

"Stop _Shouting!" _Trevor growled in frustration and Ruby frowned and pulled a mocking face before leaving her brother alone at last.

Trevor leaned back in his chair and sighed closing his eyes and rubbing his temples slowly. "God, she's such a bitch."


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't think he's ready."

"Liz." Red turned in his chair to look at his wife seriously, "He's almost 15 years old, you've got to loosen up a little bit with him."

"I know, I know, I just-" Liz sighed, sitting on the arm of his chair and leaning onto him contemplatively. "He gets to overwhelmed."

"Only because he hasn't been exposed to the world yet." Red reminded her, "Let him go into town with Rue, let him meet people. Then, from there we'll increase it. First the town, then another town, then maybe the city."

"Maybe."

Red glanced at her and took her hand gently in his stone one. "He probably doesn't even remember what happened, honey."

"No, he does." Liz nodded firmly, "He knows, we've talked about it. He had nightmares, just like I did."

She turned on the arm to face him and looked him in the eye. "Listen to me, I understand him, I understand what he's afraid of. Ruby doesn't, and I know you try but I'm not sure if you fully do either, but I do. Just trust me."

Red sighed and shook his head. "Even you knew that locking yourself away wouldn't work in the end, babe. Remember?"

Liz frowned and turned away from him, and Red draped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his lap.

"Let Ruby take him for a walk. Not into town, just outside. We'll go from there." He muttered, kissing her shoulder gently.

Meanwhile, Ruby sat on her bed, examining the muscles in her arms. They were getting stronger, she could tell. She grinned proudly and sighed. She thought back to the library and her smile fell as she laid back on the bed.

She knew she shouldn't have at her brother the way she did, it was mean. But she couldn't help but want to at least try to get him out of the base.

But at the same time, she understood his fear. People were cruel to what they didn't understand. Hell, aside from being visibly muscular, Ruby looked pretty normal, but she still few double glances when she walked in public in shorts or sleeveless shirts. But even if she didn't mind it, she knew he would.

She thought that if she was strong enough, skilled enough, she could make him feel safe and he wouldn't have to hide.

Ruby then remembered that she didn't hear her brother come in that evening.

With a roll of her eyes, Ruby pulled on her slippers and ghosted her way through the dark base halls until she found her way to the library, still aglow with unnatural light. She sighed but smiled a little as she entered and found him still in his chair, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep.

"Hey, Dum-dum." She nudged him, "You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" She sat at the table beside him and eyes him carefully, "You've been acting really weird lately."

Trevor sighed and set his book on the table, his finger holding his spot. "I can't sleep. I've been having nightmares again."

Ruby's heart sank and her shoulders slumped, "Oh, Trev."

"Don't say it like that," Trevor said lowly. "I'm not a child, I'm older than you."

"Yeah, by like, two minutes." Ruby pointed out before sighing. "Trevor, have you told Mom and Dad?"

"No."

"Good." She sat up, "Because tomorrow you and I are going to go for a walk outside."

Trevor shot up and eyed her incredulously. "I said No!"

"I know what you said, but if you don't face your fears then you're never going to get rid of them." Ruby pointed out. "I'm serious Trevor, you can't live like this, it's not healthy."

Trevor didn't respond and Ruby sighed, "Hey, look at me man."

He did and she held up one finger, "One hour, that's it. We don't have to go into town, we don't even have to go near the road, but we at least have to walk around the building a few times, okay?"

Trevor leaned back in his chair for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding, "Okay."

"Okay?" Ruby smiled and laughed a little.

"Okay." Trevor confirmed less than enthusiastically. "just for an hour, to get some fresh air."

"That's the spirit!" Ruby laughed, "Alright, now get your book and come on. You can't sleep down here again or Mom will kill me."

Trevor grumbled, but painstakingly put all the books in their rightful places except for the one he tucked under his arm. The twins crept back into the living quarters and bade each other goodnight before each collapsing in their respective beds.

The next morning, Trevor agreed to leave his book behind during their walk and slipped a thin hoodie on to keep out the chill of the fall morning. He pulled the hood over his horns and pulled the strings tight so it wouldn't slip off as they walked towards the main exit. It was early and just barely dawn, so walking in the dark would be easier than walking in broad daylight.

"Where are you two going?"

They stopped and looked up as Abe passed this with his nose in some paperwork, Nuala followed his with a thermos of tea and a sleepy look in her eye.

"We're going for a walk; catch the morning air, ya know?"

"Well, be safe." Abe nodded and Ruby smiled impishly.

"A sword is safe in the sheath, but that's not what swords were made for." She recited smartly before turning to leave with Trevor. At her voice, Nuala's ears perked up and she blinked in sudden surprise.

"Wait, Ruby." She stopped the teen with a hand on her shoulder and looked her over carefully. "Where…where did you hear that saying?"

Ruby blinked at this and shrugged uncomfortably, "I don't remember. Let's go, Trevor." She turned to her brother quickly and led him outside. Nuala gaped a moment before straightening up and clearing her throat.

"That's strange."

"What's the matter, dear?" Abe folded the papers carefully and looked to his partner.

"She was lying." Nuada stretched out her fingers and then curled them into her palm. "When she said she didn't remember where she heard the saying."

"She probably just heard it from some dirty book and was too embarrassed to tell you." Abe shrugged and Nuala turned to him.

"It's just… you're going to think I'm mad, but my brother used to say that exact same thing."

Abe smiled a little and sighed, "Nuala, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you may be reading a bit too far into it."

Nuala sighed but nodded, "You're probably right, it's an old saying. It's probably written down thousands of places."

Ruby and Trevor walked side by side at the sun began to creep overhead. Trevor seemed surprisingly at ease, but there weren't many visible guards out and about. He took a deep breath of the morning air and sighed with a large smile.

"It's nice out here, huh?" Ruby smiled as well, "I love it just before dawn, it's so peaceful."

"So," Trevor cleared his throat. "Where do you go every evening?"

"Huh?"

"After school, you always disappear, I know you say you go to the woods, but I can't figure out what you'd be doing in there for so long."

Ruby swallowed. "I'm not always in the woods, sometimes I go into town to meet people."

"Like who?"

"Well." Ruby thought, "There's a boy named Connor who's really nice, he's kind of a stoner though. And there's this book shop in town that-"

"Bookshop?" Trevor paused a moment and Ruby turned back to him with a knowing smiling.

"Yeah, I don't know the owners, but I just like walking around in there."

"I didn't know you liked to read."

"I don't" Ruby sighed, "Not really anyway. But they have music."

"Oh." Trevor thought on this. "D-do you think if we went into town, you could show me around?"

Ruby laughed and nodded, "Of course I would! I wouldn't just leave you all alone, you're my brother!" She threw an arm over him as they rounded the corner of the large building.

True to her word, Ruby pause at an hour and asked Trevor if he wanted to go back inside.

"I'm hungry." Trevor agreed, "Plus we've gotta do our lessons, remember?"

"Ah Hell, yeah." Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, before Mom kills us."

Trevor removed his hood as they entered, and the morning routine of food and school commenced. They got the standard education every other kid did, plus extra lessons on the paranormal, and by the time four o'clock rolled around, Ruby was practically bouncing in her seat to be dismissed.

Nuala watched as the girl walked off towards the woods with an unreadable look in her eye. She gazed out of her window and then at her locked bedroom door before setting on the bed and closing her eyes. She pressed herself into the mattress and searched her mind for that familiar spark that was extinguished over a decade ago.

Where are you? She thought.

Where did you go?


	3. Chapter 3

"Take a break" Nuada watched as his student nearly collapsed under the strain of her latest session. He'd moved her from shadow sparring to actual sparring against him, and he had to admit, she was formidable. But there were some things she could only learn by doing, so he couldn't take it easy on her.

"You've done well." He assured her as she panted, moving from her knees into a crouch.

"Yeah?" She swallowed, sweat dripping down her face. "I have no idea how I'm going to explain these bruises to my parents."

"Say you fell from a tree." Nuada suggested, "That's what I used to say."

"Really?" She eyed him, "Wait, why did you have to lie?"

"Well, when I was still royalty it was the law that you couldn't injure me in any way. I was supposed to take the throne after all. But that made it difficult to train properly, so I found a master who agreed to teach me in secret."

"I see." Ruby laughed, "Did he beat the hell out of you like you're beating the hell out of me?"

"Worse." Nuada scoffed, "Much worse, I could hardly move when he was done with me."

Ruby steadied her breathing and sighed, "So, I think my brother may want to go into town with me."

Nuada sniffed, "Really?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded, "I don't know if our parents would let him, but I think it would be good for him to get out with people."

Nuada didn't respond and Ruby sighed, "I know you don't like them."

"Correct."

"But I still think it would be good for him." She insisted, "I'm serious."

"Are you?" Nuada eyed her skeptically and Ruby crumbled.

"I don't know, I just want him to be happy." She confessed, "It feels like we're from two different planets now, and I don't want it to be that way. Maybe if I can get him out, we'll be able to connect better."

Nuada sighed and leaned back, eyeing her with sympathy, "Just, make sure you're not walking him into the danger you want to protect him from. Those humans….you don't know how they'll react to him."

Ruby frowned tightly and nodded, "I know, but I'll take care of him."

Nuada nodded and glanced behind him slightly, "Your birthday's coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Three more days." Ruby smiled, welcoming the change of subject. "15 years old, I've been trying to talk mom into letting me learn how to drive."

Nuada hummed with slight disinterest as he slipped his hand into his bedroll and pulled out a tightly wrapped bundle.

"Here." He pressed it into her hand firmly, "It's early, but you may need it."

Ruby looked down at the package in confusion but smiled, "You've never given me anything before."

"Well." Nuada glanced away, "My Master gave me one when I was about your age, I thought it only right."

Ruby carefully unwrapped the gift and marveled at the simply made dagger in her lap.

"It's iron." Nuada explained, "from the Troll Market, well crafted to it should last you a long time if you take proper care of it."

Ruby gripped the leather-wrapped handle and let it fall naturally into her grip, her fingers curling around it evenly.

"Thank you." She breathed, her face growing hot with a blush.

Nuada smiled and stood quickly, "Here, let me show you how to use it before you hurt yourself."

They spent the rest of the evening until sunset ensuring that Ruby's stance and technique were solid and that she could use her tool without endangering herself.

Nuada glanced out the mouth of the cave and sighed, "It's getting darker earlier and earlier."

"I should go." Ruby grimaced, "they'll be worried."

"I'll walk you part of the way" Nuada threw a loose tunic on over his trousers, slipping a knife into his belt.

"They could see you."

"Not this far out." Nuada insisted, "I don't want you walking alone in the dark."

"What have you been training me for, if not to defend myself." Ruby laughed but stifled in at Nuada's serious look.

"Just because I've taught you to fight, doesn't mean I want you to be in that position."

Ruby reluctantly followed him out, wrapping the blade in cloth and stashing it in her waistband so she could sneak it past the guards. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, flashing green and catching Nuada off guard from time to time. He still wasn't used to her abilities, mainly because Ruby hardly ever brought them up, and he couldn't tell from the outside.

She was so small when she'd first found him. A hard-faced little girl with serious eyes and steely fists, who somehow had him at the disadvantage of knowing him before he knew her. She was unnervingly strange.

He'd turned her away at first, and moved camp knowing she would tell her parents about him. But instead, he awoke the next morning with a start to find she'd tracked him to his new camp and waited for him to wake up with her plump arms crossed tightly.

"What do you want?" He growled and she glared at him.

"I _told_ you" She sighed, "I want you to teach me to fight like you."

"Why?"

"Because Trevor needs me!" She stomped her foot, clearly frustrated that he didn't immediately know her plight.

It took some time, but Nuada finally gave in, though he still didn't know why.

Maybe it was her promise not to give him away, or her persistence to annoy him until he did.

Or, maybe, it was that familiar fire in her eye that struck some deep chord in him.

"This is close enough, they'll see you." Ruby insisted as they approached the isolated grey brick base that was flooded with security lights.

Nuada sighed. "Fine, but I'm sticking to the tree line until you make it to the lights."

"Fine." Ruby nodded and paused a moment before catching her mentor off guard completely by embracing him tightly around the chest for a split second before pulling away.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She whispered and darted off towards the base. Nuada watched her go with careful eyes, tracking her until she reached the edge of the safety lights. He began to back away but stopped when his eye caught a glint of silver.

"Nuala?" Ruby blinked at the older woman who emerged from the building as she approached. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was taking in the night air." The princess smiled at her softly. "Just getting in? It's late, your mother was worried sick."

"I lost track of time." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, allowing Nuala to get an eyeful of the developing bruise under her bicep.

"Oh my!" Nuada gaped and Ruby tensed and snapped her arm down, "What happened?"

"I uh-" Ruby rubbed her toe into the dirt. "I fell out of a tree."

Nuada felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as her gaze wandered to the tree line. Ruby felt her lie hang in the air for too long and cleared her throat.

"I'm starved." She changed the subject hastily, "I'm gonna get a shower." She slipped back the princess but froze when Nuala placed a hand on her shoulder, the spot when numb and tingly almost instantly and Nuala eyed her.

"I'd take a bath in ice." She suggested quietly. "It will help with bruising."

Ruby nearly trembled under her gaze and looked away. "Thanks."

Nuala's hand fell as the girl entered the base, but the woman stood there and turned back to the tree line.

Nuada pressed himself to the broad trunk of a tree and closed his eyes. The back of his brain buzzed like a hornet and the pressure behind his eyes was unbearable.

_"Go away,"_ A silent voice told him. _"Leave."_

He frowned and swallowed hard before glaring out at the building.

_"No"_


End file.
